A strong India side led by Virat Kohli will look to bounce back from their ICC Champions Trophy finals loss to Pakistan by heading to the West Indies for a six-game series.

After a disappointing end to the ICC Champions Trophy, Virat Kohli and co. will now head to the Caribbean. (REUTERS)

Virat Kohli-led India land in the Caribbean after a good run in the Champions Trophy, where they finished runners-up to Pakistan. They’ll be up against a side that has failed to arrest its sad decline and is even in danger of missing out on direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup.

Opener Rohit Sharma and pace bowler Jasprit Bumrah are the only members from the Champions Trophy squad who have been rested. Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav have been picked for the five ODIs and one-off T20. They were among the five players named standby for the Champions Trophy. Dinesh Karthik, who was also among the five, was called up after injury forced Manish Pandey’s exit from the Champions Trophy squad.

The kind of form the Indian cricket team is in at the moment, Jason Holder’s men are sure to have a tough time.

The ODI series is slated to begin on June 23 with the first two matches to be played at the Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain. The third and fourth games will be played at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua while the final ODI and the T20I will be played at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

Last Five Series

2014: India were leading the five-match home series 2-1 before a standoff between the West Indies players and their board saw the team abandon the tour.

2013: India won the three-match series (home) 2-1

2011: India won the five-match series (home) 4-1

2011: India won the five-match series (away) 3-2

2009: India won the four-match series (away) 2-1. The last game at Gros Islet, St Lucia, was abandoned due to rain.

India’s ODI performances in 2017 (Including Champions Trophy):

Played - 8

Won - 5

Lost - 3

X - Factor

Mohammed Shami:

In this era of slam-bang cricket, where even scores of 350 aren’t safe, Shami’s wicket-taking ability is a boon for the Indian team. Returning to the ODI fold after a lengthy layoff, the Bengal pacer didn’t get a game in the Champions Trophy, but took three wickets in the warm-up match against New Zealand, which India won by 45 runs (D/L).

The 26-year-old Shami, who averages almost two wickets a game, needs 13 scalps in four games to become the fastest to 100 ODI wickets. The selectors have shown great faith in him and the Windies tour will be an ideal opportunity for him to mark his return to the limited-overs set up.